2.6k Hardcore Gaming Rig

[midget666]

Wondering how my build looks. This is my first high end computer and I really want to build it. Done hours of research and so far the forums here at Tom's Hardware have helped me more than anything. Anyone wanna take a look at the finalized build and point out problems or issues if there are flaws?

ASUS ENGTX580 Direct CUII Video Card (In dual SLI)
Corsair HX series 1000W PSU
HITACHI 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0 Gb/s HDD
Intel i7-2600k Sandy Bridge CPU
Crucial 64GB SATA III SSD
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler
G. Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 RAM (2 sets)
2nd Fan for CPU Cooler
Cooler Master LED Fans for optional slots in case (2 Fans)
LITE-ON Blu-Ray Burner Drive
ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION ATX Motherboard
Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Full Tower Case
ARCTIC COOLING MX-4 Thermal Compound

Thanks Tom's Hardware Members!

 

[Ubrales]

Great choices!

Two things come to mind.
1) The SSD - 64 GB does not leave a lot of room for programs other than the Win7 OS.
2) The 2TB HDD - I read reports stating that HDDs over 1 TB were not very reliable no matter who the manufacturer. Consider multiple 1TB HDDs stand alone; not in JBOD or RAID0.

Here is a very good (6 GB/s, 64 MB) 1TB HDDs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Later, you can always add another drive and dedicate drives depending on the type of data (text, photos, music, videos).

Also, consider a regular DVD drive (Lite-on, Sony, Asus) in addition to the Blu ray drive. And a Logitech MX-518 mouse.

 

[midget666]

I have the mouse, monitor, and keyboard covered. and why regular DVD as well? Also I don't really want more than 64MB. 64-bit Windows Ultimate (which I have for install on this system) only takes up 20GB of space. Im only going to put a couple games on there and some small applications.
Also where did you hear higher capacity drives are less reliable?

 

[christop]

I will say I have had a 1.5 tb for storage in my desktop for 5 years now with no problems. I don't see the point in saying over 1tb hard drive are not reliable. I understand you have read this but I live it. Nice looking build..

 

[midget666]

Did some searching on Google (Freaking best invention since rolled toilet paper) and didnt find anything on high capacity drives having more fail rates. Found a forum on Toms hardware about drives failing and they basically said there is no correlation between fail rates and HDD size

 

[Ubrales]

I have the mouse, monitor, and keyboard covered. and why regular DVD as well? Also I don't really want more than 64MB. 64-bit Windows Ultimate (which I have for install on this system) only takes up 20GB of space. Im only going to put a couple games on there and some small applications.

Yes, Win7 takes up about 20 GBs. And if you are just installing the OS, games, and a few applications, then yes 64 GB SSD will be fine. On my Win7 computer, I have the C: drive dedicated to the OS, games, and programs, and I am already at the 230 GB mark. All data is saved on two 1 TB HDDs in RAID1 (mirroring), and I have a separate 1 TB external drive for backups.
The MX-518 works very well and is ideally suited for gaming and other applications like CAD that require a precise mouse.
I suggested a regular DVD drive because DVD drives have been out longer than Blu ray drives, and on another thread a poster is having trouble installing Win7 from his Blu ray drive. It could be that he has a faulty Blu ray drive. DVD drives sell for $20 these days.
Also, consider an external HDD for backups.

 

[Ubrales]

Did some searching on Google (Freaking best invention since rolled toilet paper) and didnt find anything on high capacity drives having more fail rates. Found a forum on Toms hardware about drives failing and they basically said there is no correlation between fail rates and HDD size

If you feel confident, go for it!

 

[midget666]

Asking for External for my birthday XD lol I got that covered too. I think I might just stick with the Blu-Ray. I have no need for a second drive and that was probably a defective drive cause my laptop has a bluray drive and I installed windows fine

 

[Ubrales]

Asking for External for my birthday XD lol I got that covered too

I built my own because I like a fan cooled enclosure. Here is the enclosure I used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817173042

On sale, they are less than $30.00. I have 2 of these, each in operation for over a year. In one I have a 1 TB Seagate HDD, and in the other I have a 1 TB WD drive.

 

[midget666]

do you need a fan cooled enclosure? especially when i have 3 front fans in the case lol oh wait nvm thats for external XD

 

[Ubrales]

do you need a fan cooled enclosure? especially when i have 3 front fans in the case lol oh wait nvm thats for external XD

LOL! You are just too excited about your new build. Great parts!

In case you decide to overclock the Sandy Bridge CPU, remember do NOT exceed 1.350 volts even though you may read and hear otherwise. Lots of reading material on this subject.

 

[midget666]

yeah. I consulted someone else about temps and max voltages. absolute max tolerances is like 1.375V. But people reach overclocks of like 5ghz on water with just 1.33 volts

 

[midget666]

can anyone suggest a good gaming keyboard to go with the logitec mouse? for any game but i play mostly RTS games.